OHSAA seeking simpler transfer rules with new referendum

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Time to tweak the transfer rules. Well, make that more than a tweak.

That's what the Ohio High School Athletic Association has asked its 826-member schools to consider the past two weeks as it conducts a statewide referendum. One of the most significant referendums is Issue 4-B, to change the regulations when it comes to an athlete's eligibility after switching schools. Principals have until 4 p.m. Wednesday to vote on the referendums.

The OHSAA fields more questions about transfer issues than any other, and there were more than 1,800 transfers statewide this school year.

While determining eligibility after a transfer is often a clear-cut issue, there are also increasing instances when it has become contentious, sometimes to the point of courtroom litigation. Those latter cases can become a costly and time-consuming matter for the organization, which has had its eligibility decisions overturned by courts.

The main sticking point is a transfer student who does not qualify for immediate eligibility under 11 current exceptions has to sit out one year of sports participation at the new school.

If Issue 4-B passes -- a simple majority is needed -- it will halve the amount of time an athlete would have to sit out -- a significant change that could bring a free agency atmosphere to high school sports. A football player would miss a season's first five games (of 10), a basketball player sitting for 11 (of 22) games. Players would be eligible for the postseason. If passed, this would go into effect in the 2013-14 school year.

High school transfers

Here is a look at the number of transfers approved for immediate eligibility at the new school by the Ohio High School Athletic Association each school year dating back to 2009-10 for the three most commonly used exceptions.

Exception 1 (parents’ bona fide move into a new public school district) 

2012-13: 1,079. 

2011-12: 965. 

2010-11: 812. 

2009-10: 798. 

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Exception 2 (legal change of custody)

2012-13: 184.

2011-12: 211.

2010-11: 231.

2009-10: 212. 

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Exception 5 (transfers to public school located in public district in which parents maintained bona fide legal residence for at least 90 days prior; only documentation required) 

2012-13: 580. 

2011-12: 621. 

2010-11: 684. 

2009-10: 563. 

Source:OHSAA

Just as important, an athlete would be able to participate immediately in any sport he or she did not play at the previous school.

"I don't think we've given up," said OHSAA Commissioner Dan Ross, when asked if the transfer issue had become too cumbersome. "The judges have had a part to say. The membership and the way families have become more mobile, it was a combination of all of the above.

"When you really do look at the bottom of it, a student transferring in the ninth grade has three years left. To sit out a year is a third of their high school career. What we've heard, not only from the courts, is sitting one whole year is an awful lot."

The one-year ineligibility rule has been in use in Ohio since 2000, when the OHSAA amended its rules to go along with guidelines established by the Indianapolis-based National Federation of State High School Associations. All 50 states belong to the NFSHSA, but each has various adaptations of the transfer recommendation.

"Each state has some quirks," said Bob Gardner, the federation's executive director. "It's an ever-changing landscape. Nobody's been able to find a perfect rule. There is always some kind of loophole.

"When we have our national meetings, the transfer rule is always a topic of discussion. People who have made changes in it tell us what works and what doesn't work. It's not meant to punish someone who made a bona fide move. It's about someone trying to hide the reason [for moving]. Those are the ones that are tough."

It's the loopholes that bring out the ire.

Even with numerous exceptions, 11 in Ohio, that have been created to deal with uncommon student situations, the one-year hiatus from the playing field has been contentious. The OHSAA has been dragged into costly legal proceedings by disgruntled parties that do not agree or want to abide by the organization's eligibility rulings.

The words "punitive" and "Draconian" have been cited in legal proceedings against the organization.

"It's a fundamental change and we have reached out to our membership and listened to them," said OHSAA associate commissioner Deborah Moore, who along with assistant commissioner Roxanne Price handles transfer and compliance issues. "We want to do what they want. We often hear that a year is too punitive, so we will tweak it. We want to get it right."

The OHSAA also wants to save money. A costly appellate process that goes to court can approach $50,000, Moore said. She said there are two eligibility issues in court at present, one involving a football player in Youngstown and the other a girls basketball player in Cincinnati.

"It's wasteful of resources," said Moore. "We'd rather spend money on kids."

Before 2000, high school athletes were in a bit of a "wild west" scenario. Moore termed it a "play me or trade me" state, with athletes jumping around for reasons from lack of playing time to dislike of a coach.

That's when the state membership decided to rein in the movement and use the NFSHSA's transfer recommendations.

So, will these latest proposed changes help if passed this week? It's hard to tell since no solution will likely solve everyone's concerns.

"Somebody is going to push the limit, but I think it will be the exception rather than the rule," said Ross. "I don't think we are close to it being out of control. If this were going to get out of control, our schools would say look at it. That's what we do. We look at what our schools tell us."

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